10 NOVEMBER 17 - NOVEMBER 23, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
Industry City and NYU Tandon introduce
new start-up hub for veterans
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Industry City (IC) cut the ribbon to
its newest facility, the Veterans Future
Lab, a state-of-the-art facility
from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering
that will provide support to
start-up companies founded by United
States military veterans.
The space's opening, which took
place on Monday, November 13, at 87
35th Street, featured elected officials,
veterans, and IC and NYU representatives,
and included a tour of the facility,
which features 3D printers and other
new materials in the start-up hub.
“This is another piece of building
the ecosystem around innovation and
manufacturing, and we are delighted
to have NYU Tandon embedded in the
Industry City campus,” President and
CEO of IC Andrew Kimball told this
paper, adding that the new facility will
benefit many Sunset residents. “The
equipment that they have here is not
just going to be available to veteran
entrepreneurs, but also Industry
City tenants to come and use," he
said. "They’re going to run important
programming with the local community,
particular local schools, in terms
of creating access to this equipment as
well.”
“This is a great opportunity for the
community because veterans in this
area will find that they have access to
a world-class educational institution,
NYU’s School of Engineering, but also
access to mentors and people who
can help them find capital and ways
to commercialize their product and
take it to market,” added Lieutenant
Governor of New York Kathy Hochul.
“Ultimately, when they’re successful
they’ll be hiring people, hopefully
from this very community. That’s why
people should be excited about this
project that's not just paying back a
debt we owe to our veterans but also
is good for the local economy."
NYU Tandon will offer full scholarships
to veterans who enroll in “A
Bridge to Tandon,” a program that
prepares those with non-engineering
degrees for master’s degree in select
fields.
“This is a very happy day to be
celebrating,” said Andrew Hamilton,
president of NYU. "This partnership
of an educational institution NYU
Tandon School of Engineering, the
city of Brooklyn, the state of New
York and Barclays, it’s just a very
special connection. We all see that
when we work together, great things
happen and I think for me, being with
all of you celebrating the opening of
the Veterans Future Lab is a special
moment on a special weekend.
“This (lab) is the confluence of an
educational influence at NYU which
in the business of giving people the
foundation of their lives," he went on.
"We teach them to think critically and
analytically, whether it is 18-year-old
freshmen or whether it is veterans returning
from service, then to use that
to build their lives and careers. The
opportunities we have help them get
the foundation and become part of the
entrepreneurial energy that is taking
place in the city. It is an educational
institution but it’s also a commitment
to innovation in Brooklyn.”
Barclays will further the Veterans
Future Lab by leveraging the skills
and expertise of its senior leaders,
according to CEO Jes Staley.
“I can’t think of a greater event than
bringing together government, education
and a bank to do something that
is deeply impactful and meaningful
to the greatest citizens in our country,
those that put their lives at risk, our
veterans. Joining this partnership a
deep honor,” Staley said. “There is no
community that is more deserving of
this entrepreneurship. This is the first
of its kind in the country and hopefully
there will be many more to follow.
We have an opportunity to change the
lives and give a real direction to our
returning veterans."
Veteran Tim Lawton stressed the
benefits to someone like him, who has
ventured into entrepreneurship after
a stint with the military.
“The more I thought about it, the
more I realized how similar my experiences
actually were,” he said. “I
spent the majority of my five and a
half years on duty between Iraq and
Afghanistan, on four combat tours.
"Now as a co-founder of Frontier
7 a tech innovation company, not
much has changed," he went on. "The
toughest thing for veterans is the
transition of that mindset and skill
set and I know that was the toughest
thing for me in my journey. Programs
and organizations that teach veterans
that their experience are transferable,
that their mindset and skill set do have
applications in a totally different environment
where seemingly there is
not a lot of overlap, help by answering
questions you don’t even know you
should be asking. I know it will do that
for many veterans.”
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Jaime DeJesus
Cutting the ribbon on the Veterans Future Lab at Industry City.